Finicky is a treat for even the pickiest readers! Written by Karla Oceanak and Illustrated by Kendra Spanjer

“Is the book here yet?” asked my son at the end of September, and he added, “I really wouldn’t mind getting it for my birthday.” Really? An 8 (almost 9) year old boy saying a book was fine for his birthday? Well, only when it is a book in the Aldo Zelnick series! We have read all previous books in the series and now we wait anxiously for the next. We both love reviewing the books in this series!

Finicky is the Sixth title in the award winning series and does not disappoint! Finicky, an Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel has been available since mid September from Bailiwick Press. An illustrated novel for middle-grade readers, Finicky continues the laugh-out loud adventures of 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick as he fights against F.E.A.S.T, the school’s new, healthy-yet pizza-less-lunch program and learns about Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the famous 16th century artist who painted portraits of people from food. My son couldn’t stop laughing! This book was definitely one that we enjoyed reading at story-time.

The Aldo Zelnick books, hardcover novels for 7-to 13-year olds, feature the hybrid half-text, half-illustration format made popular by the Wimpy Kid series. My son also enjoys the Wimpy Kid series but he relates more to the Aldo Zelnick series. Maybe it’s because my son likes to draw and Aldo is a budding artist but there’s much more to it. The characters are fun & unique and just slightly more intelligent. Unique to the series is the emphasis on vocabulary. I love this aspect! Each book includes fun and challenging words starting with the title letter. Finicky features F words, such as finagle and filibuster.Kids are not only entertained by the characters but they also learn new words. Now, how cool is that?!